Monthly Archives: February 2012

The Western Railways (WR) will run special trains during summer vacations for the convenience of passengers.

According to a NWR release, Bandra (T)-Bikaner-Bandra (T) Weekly Superfast Special Train No 04728 Bandra (T)-Bikaner Weekly Superfast Special will leave Bandra (T) at 1435 hrs on every Tuesday from April three to June 26 and reachBikanerat 1230 hrs next day.

Similarly, in return direction, Train No 04727 Bikaner-Bandra (T) Weekly Superfast Special will leaveBikanerat 1500 hrs on every Monday from April second to June 25, and reach Bandra (T) at 1255 hrs next day.

The train will have AC 2-tier, AC 3-tier, sleeper class and II class general accommodation.

Indore-Jaipur-Indore Superfast Special Train No 09727 Indore-Jaipur Superfast Special train will depart fromIndoreon every Wednesday at 2230 hrs from April four to June 27 and arrive in Jaipur at 0800 hrs next day.

Similarly, Train No 9728 Jaipur-Indore Superfast Special train will depart from Jaipur on every Tuesday from April three to June 26 at 2040 hrs and reachIndoreat 0710 hrs next day.

This train will stop at Dewas,Ujjain, Nagda,Kota, Sawai Madhopur, Bansthali Niwai and Durgapura in both directions. It will have AC 2-tier, AC 3-tier, sleeper and second class coaches.

The booking of Train No 04728 Bandra (T)-Bikaner Weekly Superfast and 09727 Indore-Jaipur Superfast Special will start from February 20,

Jaipur Okha Special train will start from April03 to June26, 2012. It will start from Jaipur at 2120 hrs on every Tuesday. On return, it will depart from Okha at 2300 hrs every Monday and reach Jaipur on the next day i.e. Tuesday.

Bandra Terminus Delhi Sarai Rohilla Special Weekly Train will start from April4 to June27, which will depart from Bandra terminus at 1225 hrs on Wednesday and reach Delhi Sarai rohilla at 1625 hrs on the next day,Thursday.

Jaipur Bandra Terminus Jaipur Superfast AC Special Weekly Train will start from April03 to June26, 2012. It will start from Jaipur at 1200 hrs on every Tuesday and reach Bandra Terminus on Wednesday at 2120 hrs. On return, it will depart from Bandra Terminus at 1655 hrs on every Monday and reach Jaipur on the next day i.e. Tuesday at 1040 hrs.

Delhi Ajmer Delhi Superfast Special train will run everyday from April01 to June30, 2012. It will depart fromDelhiat 0505 hrs and arrive inAjmerat 1255 hrs. FromAjmer, it will depart at 1405 hrs and reachDelhiat 2205 hrs.

Jaipur! The city of Rajputanas is now extending its name to metro city as the “Metro Rail project” is gearing up in Jaipur explicitly. After two years of up-downs and uncertainty, Jaipur’s Metro train project is finally ready to hit the tracks.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) are the joint nodal agency for this venture which would start work for building the stations and railway lines for the first phase of the project.

This project is concentrating on two routes. The First route of Jaipur metro rail will connect Mansarovar to Badi chaupar via Civil Lines and Chandpole. The length of the route is 9.2km. The approximate number of passengers expected is approx.2 lac per day and the frequency of the metro which will run on this track is estimated to be every 6 minutes as per plan.

The second route will connect Durgapura to Ambabari via Ajmeri Gate and MI Road. The tracks will be elevated till Ajmeri Gate and then will go underground. The length of this route is 23km. The approximate number of passengers is expected approx. 4lac per day and the frequency of the metro which will run on this track is estimated to be every 5 minutes. As per the data the total number of stations touched by metro is 29.

And the present situation is that Construction of the first part of the first line is complete which is from Mansarovar to Chandpole, started on November 13, 2010.

Jaipur will be first city in the country to have an elevated track for the Metro and the Bus Rapid Transport System. While the Metro would run on the elevated track- the two tracks below it would be reserved for the normal city traffic.

The Sheetla Mata Fair takes place in the month of March-April (Chaitra on Krishna Paksh). This year it is scheduled for March15, 2012. The word ‘Sheetla’ is derived from sheetal which means calm and composed. The fair is held in Seel-Ki-Doongri village in Jaipur. It lasts for only 24 hours in which pilgrims visit to pay homage to Sheetla Mata.

It is believed that if due to any reason, Sheetla Mata, the goddess of epidemics loses her temper then the area is expected to be affected by dangerous epidemics. That’s why, the fair is organized to keep her mood cheerful and offerings of different type of fruits, sweets and cash is placed at the feet of Sheetla Mata. A beautiful red stone placed inside the temple is an embodiment of the deity. People who come to attend the fair are supposed to take food only after visiting the sacred shrine of Sheetla Mata.

In this fair, the cattle fair also occur simultaneously. Due to plethora of colorful activities happening in the fair, the atmosphere becomes truly joyful. Cattle breeders decorate their animals beautifully and take them to the fair. Finally the best breeder is awarded with a prize.

People from all across rural Rajasthan grace the occasion with their presence. They are uniquely dressed and accompanied with their horses and bullock carts. During this one-day fair, a small market is set up from where one can buy various shoes, clothes, foodstuff, utensils and agricultural implements.

The fair of Kaila Devi (Mahalakshmi, the goddess of wealth) is to be held on March19, 2012 at village Kaila in Karauli, a holy city 160 kms from Jaipur and 103 km from Sawai Madhopur. Each year, around two lakh pilgrims come to visit this fair. The pilgrims offer prayers at the Kaila Devi Temple which is at a distance of 2 kilometres from Kaila village. The nearby Bhairon temple and Hanuman temple are other attractions.

The devotees bring along with them cash, bangles, coconuts and sweets to offer to the goddess. Staunch devotees follow the religious practice of Kanak- Dandotis. A distance of approximately 20 kilometres has to be covered by them so as to reach the temple. The most difficult part of this ritual is that this distance is not covered on foot. Instead, the devotees lie flat and make lines with their hand. They reach up to these lines and the process is repeated till they reach the temple.

While some eat and rest during the journey, others enjoy following the rituals and festivities. Many shops take their grounds in the fair where they sell varieties of local articles. The Mina tribals arrive in a spirit of happiness, dancing and singing. They make the whole ambiance light and create a lively atmosphere. On the whole this fair brings out the ancient tradition and rituals of Rajasthan.

As a rule, RSRTC buses rides are available only for half day during the festival of Holi ( Dulandi), but as the International women’s day also falls on the same day, RSRTC has decided to provide their services for full day.

Women travelling on RSRTC buses would be exempted from paying fares during the day.

“The facility of free travel for women will be available from midnight of 7thMarch till 8th March, 2012 in all kinds of buses.

Tickets would be issued but no fare would be charged from the women passengers,” as told by Manjit Singh CMD of roadways.

The Clock, calligraphy, tattoos, scriptures and women drawn in Phad style- all of Rameshwar Singh’s artistic signatures, remain the same. Only, this time his paintings tell a new story, that of a romantic tiger. Called “Once upon a time there was a tiger” (Romancing tales of Ranthambore), the new show inaugurated yesterday at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur by Diya Kumari.

In this exhibition, the artist has painted the love triangle between humans, tigers and nature. Rameshwar Singh has liberally experimented with color tones. From rich reds and blues to browns and greys, he has used them all.

And his subjects turn out to be every bit as colorful as his canvases. Sample this: In a painting titled ‘An interview with mysterious tiger’, the ‘Ranthambore king’ gives an interview to a woman reporter and a cameraperson sitting in a vintage car! “Here, the tiger is telling the reporter about his life in the jungle and how tigers are attracted to beautiful tigresses with big eyes like hers’.

Born in Rajasthan, and received his M.A. in drawing and painting from UdaipurUniversityin 1982. Rameshwar Singh’s paintings are very compact and colorful; there’s a lot in them: figures, forms, and mythological content. Sort of magic mantras and omens appear mysteriously in Rameshwar’s paintings. You can’t afford to miss this beautifully incredible depiction of the royal escapades of the tiger, the king of Ranthambore. The show opened on Monday, February20 at JKK which will be on till Feb 29, 2012. Timings: 11.00 am to 6.00 pm

Holi is a festival of color and is celebrated all over India. It is also celebrated by Indians residing out of India. This festival comes on the full moon day of ‘phagun’ – a Hindu month. This year the festival of Holi will be celebrated on March07 and 08 2012. Everywhere, people – young or old are drenched with different colors and water. There are balloons of colored water bursting and long ‘pichkaris’ squirting colored water. People in small groups are seen singing, dancing and throwing colors on each other.

The colorful state of Rajasthan plays Holi much the same way as Mathura. A night before the full moon, crowds of people gather together and light huge bonfires to burn the residual dried leaves and twigs of the winter. People throw colored water and powders (gulal and kumkum) at each other and make merry. Singing, dancing and the traditional beats of dhol add to the gaiety of the occasion.

Celebrations by Royals
On this day even the royals of Rajasthan don a festive spirit and mingle with the commoners. In fact, royal courts all over North India have refined the festival into an art. Rajput warriors of the Rajasthani courts used to show off their equestrian skills during the festival. Rajput men would ride their steeds through the white and pink clouds of color, throwing color powders on each other. Even the members of the royal families are not immune from being drenched by color.

Brij Mahotsav
The Brij Festival is held in honor of Lord Krishna a few days before Holi, in the month of March. The festival is marked by verve and zest. Villagers, in gay, multi hued attire, can be seen singing and performing the raslila depicting the immortal love-story of Radha and Krishna.

Folk Traditions in Rajasthan

Mali Holi : The colorful festival of Holi is played in many different ways. This celebration has a unique style where the men color the women with water and women retaliate by hitting them with sticks or long pieces of cloth.

Gair at Godaji: Men from 12 villages collect at Godaji village near Ajmer in Rajasthan to play gair a few days after holi. Each village brings his own drummer and gair troupes. The picturesque location for it is a valley surrounded by hills on all sides. Thousands of onlookers and close to hundred players make a wonderful sight and a fond memory.

Dolchi Holi at Bikaner: InBikaner district, several communities have been celebrating Holi by throwing water at one another with force for the past more than 300 years. A specially designed vessel called ‘dolchi’ made from camel skin is used for the purpose. But the water is thrown only at the back of an individual.

This festival brings new hope for all the people as it marks the end of chilled winter days and the beginning of the summer. People forget their enmity and throw away their worries. Every nook and corner presents a colorful sight.